Healthy Hydration

It's so important to stay hydrated under the hot Pacific sun. Fresh water is always the best option to keep you hydrated. For a flavour hit, you can try fresh coconut water, or squeeze some delicious pacific citrus fruits into your water, or have a cup of tea without the sugar.

Sugar-sweetened beverages are a major cause of obesity, heart disease, diabetes and tooth decay in Fiji. Some of us are drinking more than our body weight in sugar each year.

We should be having fewer than six teaspoons of added sugar a day. Do you know how much sugar you’re drinking?

Why is staying hydrated Important?

Our bodies use water for many different processes, such as:

Carrying nutrients and oxygen around our body

Getting rid of waste products

Controlling our body temperature

Helping our digestive system function to break down food, nourish our body and get rid of waste

In fact, our bodies are made of between 50-75% water!

How much should I drink each day?

How much water you need each day depends on a lot of things such as your age, diet, level of physical activity and the climate. This means on warmer days, and when we are very active we need more water.

As a general guide we suggest drinking between 1.5 – 2 L’s a day. This equates to around 8 glasses of water. The good news is there’s also a lot of water in the food we eat, especially fresh fruits and vegetables.

What happens if I get dehydrated?

The first sign of dehydration is feeling thirsty. If we don’t act on it then more symptoms develop such as:

Dry lips

Headaches

Feeling tired and weak

Confusion

Mood swings

If left untreated dehydration can have serious consequences, especially for babies, children and older people.

Our risk of dehydration increases if we are excessively sweating such as when we are out in the sun too long (especially in this hot Fijian climate), exercising, or sweating due to sickness. Other causes can include diarrhoea and vomiting as well as excessive alcohol intake.

What should I do if I’m dehydrated?

If you think you’re dehydrated you can normally fix it by drinking water or a bu (coconut water). It’s best to sip these regularly over a long period of time rather than gulping them down – drinking too much too quickly could make you sick.

If you have more severe dehydration it’s important to get to a health centre or pharmacy and get rehydration sachet, salts or tables.

Some people grab a sports drinks to rehydrate but these can have a lot of sugar in them which can actually mean they take longer to rehydrate you. It’s always best to stick to water, bu or rehydration sachets.

For severe dehydration seek urgent medical help.

Tips for staying hydrated:

Keep a bottle of water with you

Have a glass of water with every meal

Eat plenty of fruits and vegetables every day

Drink a glass of water before and after you exercise

Take extra water when you’ll be spending a lot of time outside

Tip:If you have scales at home try weighing yourself before and after exercising. We can lose up to a whole Kg in an hour! Unfortunately this doesn’t mean we’ve lost weight for good- we’re just lost a whole lot of water through sweat. Try to drink as much water as the scales say you’ve lost to rehydrate.

A note on soft drinks

Soft drinks contain more than 8% sugar. This means they are high in sugar and the body has to actually use up water to absorb them, worsening your dehydration before helping it (same goes for most juices). Because they are fizzy they also take up to three times longer to digest and absorb compared to water. The high sugar content and fizziness mean soft drinks are a poor choice for rehydration.

Did you know juice can contain just as many calories as soft drink? Just check out these labels. They show that per 100mL Coca-Cola contains 10.6g of sugar, while Pulpy juice contains 10.8g- that means that a class of juice contains slightly more sugar than Coca-cola. A much healthier way to get that fruity flavour is from fruit!

A huge Vinaka Vakalevu to the Ministry of Health Fiji for allowing the use of their beautiful photographs from the Khana Kakana Project and to the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade for the wonderful photos from their projects around the Pacific.